Leevi, student at Espoon yhteislyseo upper secondary school: Opportunities for international travel interest me

Leevi Rasimus is a first year-student at Espoon yhteislyseo upper secondary school. He has made new friends in his upper secondary school. Leevi is interested in the opportunities his upper secondary school offers for internationalisation.

Leevi Rasimus started his general upper secondary school studies in Espoon yhteislyseo in August 2025. In other words, at the time of this interview, he has been a general upper secondary school student for a couple of months. In the ninth grade, he and his friends had been contemplating which upper secondary school to select: “We visited Espoon yhteislyseo when they arranged their introductory tour. The EYL and its teachers seemed nice.” The journey from home in Lauttasaari to Espoon yhteislyseo is also quite convenient in terms of duration.

Leevi was particularly interested in the opportunities to travel abroad during general upper secondary school studies. In recent years, Espoon yhteislyseo has been implementing 10 international projects, initiatives or trips each year, which students are welcome to join. By engaging in international activities, the school aims to help students grow into world citizens with language skills, sense of responsibility and an open mind.

No old friends happened to end up in the same group as Leevi, but he has made a lot of new friends. Getting to know new people is absolutely the best thing in upper secondary school. Leevi praises the team spirit of the group; it is easy to do group work with everyone in the group.

Leevi has already had his first week of exams (or officially the final exam week) of his general upper secondary school studies. “As long as you studied enough, it wasn’t that bad,” Leevi says. In Leevi’s lower secondary school, Lauttasaaren yhteiskoulu, the exams in mother tongue and biology were already done in Abitti, the software used for the national matriculation examination. Leevi was also accustomed to the school year having been divided into five-week teaching periods and the changing timetables.

The volume of things that need to be studied for exams in general upper secondary school is, of course, higher than in lower secondary school, and the chapters are longer. Leevi says that in order to succeed in upper secondary school exams, after each lesson you should re-read the chapter you learned about during the lesson and then do the assignments carefully to properly understand things.

He feels that the final exam week of general upper secondary schools is better than the lower secondary school system with exams scattered across the period. During the final exam week, there is only one exam per day, after which you can start preparing for the next exam. This gives you more time to study for the exams. “In lower secondary school, the exam you had that day could be on the last lesson of day. So, during the day your focus was not on it. Then you had to go to your sports practice. You only had time to study for the next exam late in the evening,” Leevi says.

The good first impression Leevi got of the teachers of Espoon yhteislyseo has also held true in the everyday life of the school, and Leevi praises the EYL teachers. The teachers teach not only their own subject but also study skills. Leevi got already accustomed to studying using a laptop in lower secondary school. Still, it is a new thing to him as well that now the laptop is always present. Not all those starting their general upper secondary education are as used to using laptops in their studies. “Teachers also encourage us to take notes in notebooks,” Leevi says. Teachers also give you good tips on what you should study most for the exam.

Leevi has not needed to abandon competitive sports after starting his general upper secondary school studies. Leevi plays football in PPJ football club in categories P16 ELL (i.e. the highest South-West league in the age group) and P17 Ykkönen. After the school day, he has time to do his homework and go to practice; fortunately, he does not need to do his homework late at night.

At the moment, Leevi is planning to switch from football back to athletics. When he was younger, he practised athletics and competed in 800 metres run, among other things. He has continued running alongside football. He believes that it is easier for him to qualify for the Finnish Championship level in athletics than in football. “In upper secondary school, you earn yearly study credits for doing competitive sports at the Finnish Championship level,” Leevi says.

Leevi has already a chance to participate in his school’s international activities during his first year of studies. He will go to Ericeira, Portugal, for a week with six other students and two teachers. Ericeira is near Lisbon. The trip is related to the Erasmus project Europe to Belong – the meaning of Europeanism in Espoon yhteislyseo upper secondary school. The objective of the EYL project is to raise EU awareness and become part of the EPAS network (European Parliament Ambassador School Programme).

In Ericeira, Leevi will live in the family of a local young person for a week and spend the mornings in their general upper secondary school lessons. There is other project programme for the afternoons. “It’s interesting to learn about general upper secondary education in another country,” Leevi says. Portuguese young people, on the other hand, will come to Finland in January – and Leevi will then act as a host.

In addition to the cooperation project with Portugal, Leevi is also interested in the opportunities to go to Berlin and Rome during his general upper secondary school studies. “I’m interested in history, and it’s completely different to learn about it where it has actually happened,” Leevi says. Leevi finds history so interesting that he also intends to take a lot of optional study units in history.

One of the reasons why Leevi chose general upper secondary school after lower secondary school in the first place was that he does not yet know what he will become when he grows up – what he wants to do for the next 40 years. He says that if you are a ninth-grade student and already know a field you are interested it, you should apply to vocational education and training. The general upper secondary school, on the other hand, gives you time to choose which field to head for in the future. “The general upper secondary school provides good general knowledge and skills, information on how the world works,” Leevi says.

For his final year, Leevi will move to Kiviruukin lukio upper secondary school, which will enter service in autumn 2027. Read more about the new upper secondary school (in Finnish)